This application relates to fall protection equipment, and, in particular, to a gated rebar snap hook which is used to anchor a worker, via a lanyard to an anchor point, such as existing rebar in a construction site.
It is not uncommon in the construction and building repair industries, and in other related industries, for individuals to work at elevated work positions, such as, for example during the construction or repair of the upper floors of a multistory building. A number of safety devices are used in such a situation. For example, safety harnesses and retractables are devices that are designed to allow an individual to operate safely at what would otherwise be dangerous or deadly heights without risk of harm. A self-retracting lanyard (retractable) comprises a cable or webbing, known as a lifeline, that is held in the retractable on a reel. When the lifeline is pulled from the retractable at a relatively slow rate, such as when the user is moving about but not falling, the retractable allows the reel to unwind and the lifeline to extend from the retractable. A safety harness can be attached to the end of the lifeline to secure the individual to the retractable.
Either the lifeline or the retractable is connected to an anchor. The anchor point can often be a cylindrical post or rebar, and in this situation, a snap hook is typically used to connect the retractable to the anchor. Gated hooks (i.e., a hook with a gate extending across the hook opening) have been developed to help reduce the possibility of the hook from disengaging the anchor, and to reinforce the hook against forces imposed on the hook when attached to a generally vertical bar (and when the hook is therefore more horizontal than vertical).